Residents on housing estates across the borough are benefiting from multi-million pound investments in their homes and neighbourhoods.

Plans have just been unveiled for a range of large-scale improvements, ranging from new windows and roofs to upgraded lifts and heating systems.

This ongoing work to improve the borough’s housing stock comes as new figures show overwhelming satisfaction levels with the council’s housing department.

Eighty two per cent of tenants said they were pleased with the quality of services they receive from the department. This is one of the highest approval ratings in the country.

Among the latest wave of new projects which have been given the green light are the installation of state-of-the-art heating and hot water systems inside 127 homes on the Ackroydon estate in Southfields as part of a £720,000 scheme. The individual combination boilers are the most energy efficient on the market and should offer tenants and leaseholders big savings on their future fuel bills.

Residents on the Balham Hill estate will soon be consulted on proposals for a better lift service as part of a £212,000 improvement scheme, while people living on the Wilditch estate in Battersea will be asked to back plans for a £360,000 spend on external decorations to brighten up the estate and improve its appearance.

Meanwhile residents in Sporle Court on Battersea’s Winstanley estate are to be consulted on plans to spend £892,000 on providing new windows, new floor surfaces, redecorations and repairs.

And detailed discussions with residents and tenants groups are well underway on proposals to fit new windows to 929 flats on the Surrey Lane estate in Battersea. Work on the first phase of the project, covering 172 flats, is likely to begin this summer.

Housing chairman Cllr Paul Ellis said: “The council has a long and very solid record of investment in local housing estates to ensure that tenants and leaseholders live in good quality accommodation.

“Each year the authority spends around £50m on improving and maintaining our estates. There is a continuous programme of works to upgrade roofs, windows, lifts, entry-call systems, CCTV, heating systems, kitchens, bathrooms and communal areas.

“As a result of this ongoing investment, Wandsworth was one of the first councils in the country to reach the Government’s decent homes standard for each and every one of our 30,000 properties.

“Indeed we met the target of having 100 per cent of our homes comply with this quality standard a full five years before the Government’s deadline. And even though this deadline passed some time ago, a very significant number of councils and housing associations are still struggling to meet this important goal.

“It is by providing good homes, looking to make continuous improvements, completing repairs quickly and efficiently and responding properly to address people’s concerns that 82 per cent of our tenants say they are satisfied with the services they receive.”

April 25, 2013